On this day in 2001: Hamilton Masakadza achieves this historic feat
Hamilton Masakadza one of the best players during the golden era of Zimbabwe cricket who impressed one and all with his consistency. He was a part of the Zimbabwean team that had some of the biggest names in that era including Heath Streak, Tatenda Taibu, Stuart Carlisle, etc.
In February 2000, at a tender age of 16, while doing his schooling from Churchill School, Masakadza became the first black Zimbabwean and also the youngest player to score a first-class century.
Masakadza made his Test debut during the 2001/02 home Test series against the West Indies. However, it was in the second game that was played at Harare that he made a strong statement.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, the Zimbabweans were bundled out for just 131 with Masakadza being bowled by Colin Stuart for just nine. The Windies in reply posted a mammoth 347 and it was a daunting task for the hosts from thereon to save the match.
However, a spirited Masakadza took up the challenge and showed a fearless intent against the Windies bowlers. He could not be stopped once he was set and kept Zimbabwe’s scoreboard ticking. The youngster’s efforts paid off as he ended up scoring his maiden Test century before walking back to the pavilion, with 119 runs against his name.
The hosts eventually declared their innings at 563/9 to set West Indies a target of 348 runs. The visitors finished at 98/1 as the contest ended in a stalemate.
Not only was Masakadza named the Player of the Match but he also became the youngest player to register a century on Test debut, aged 17 years and 354 days. Nevertheless, he could not hold the record for too long as it was eventually shattered by the then emerging Bangladesh batter Mohammad Ashraful in the very same year.
Masakadza went on to score five Test centuries in his red-ball career that consisted of 38 matches in which he amassed 2,223 runs averaging 30.04 with his highest individual score being 158. He bid adieu to international cricket in September 2019.
